British Prime Minister Tony Blair is today preparing for one of the biggest parliamentary battles since Labour came to power in 1997 over the publication of the long-awaited university top-up fee legislation.
Education Secretary Mr Charles Clarke will unveil the latest version of the controversial plans in a Commons statement and publish the Higher Education Bill that, if passed, will mean higher fees from 2006.
The fees are deeply unpopular with many Labour backbenchers, but this week saw signs that ministers may have taken enough heed of some of the rebels' concerns to avert a humiliating defeat when the bill is debated later this month.
Labour MPs Mr Peter Bradley and Mr Alan Whitehead conceded that ministers were unlikely to budge on the principle that universities should be able to vary the cost of a degree course up to the proposed limit of £3,000 sterling a year.
They favoured a flat-rate £2,500 a year fee, saying poor students would otherwise be priced out of top universities that would automatically charge the maximum for all their courses.
The rebels also warned that former polytechnics would fall even further behind Oxbridge and other elite universities as they would have to spend most of whatever they earned in higher fees on bursaries for cash-strapped students.
In return for falling into line behind the Government's plans, Mr Bradley and Dr Whitehead demanded a guarantee that both the Commons and the Lords would get a vote on any moves to change or abolish the £3,000 cap.